Environment | WPN World People News

Two boys at a church in the Croix des Bouquets neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The church is being used as a shelter to protect children and families from hurricane Matthew.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement with Eco Services Operations Corp., located in Carson, Calif., for violations of federal laws related to a large release of 65,049 pounds of sulfur dioxide in 2013. The company will pay a $106,000 civil penalty and has to come into compliance.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has released a draft environmental impact statement that concludes seismic surveys for oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico would cause significant harm to marine mammals. The long-awaited review comes in response to a court-ordered settlement of a lawsuit brought by environmental groups.

On October 3, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached a proposed settlement with Southern Counties Oil Co., known as SC Fuels, for violations of federal oil pollution prevention regulations at its facility in San Jose, Calif. SC Fuels will pay a $75,000 penalty and has come into compliance with the law.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached an agreement with Idlewild Acres, LLC, and Peter M. Wild, its owner and manager, resolving violations of the federal Clean Water Act related to wetlands.

Parliament is ready to give its consent to the ratification of the Paris climate agreement today in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and COP21 President Ségolène Royal after EU ministers approved it on 30 September. The EU ratification would trigger the entry into force of the first-ever universal, legally-binding global climate deal. Ahead of the Council vote, we discussed the agreement with Italian EPP member Giovanni La Via, chair of the environment committee.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on October 3, announced a settlement with Southern Coal Corporation and 26 affiliates (Southern Coal Corporation) requiring the companies to make comprehensive upgrades to their coal mining and processing operations to prevent discharges of polluted wastewater from their mines in the Appalachian region.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on 30 September announced a settlement with Southern Coal Corporation and 26 affiliated mining companies that requires the companies to make comprehensive upgrades to their coal mining and processing operations to prevent discharges of polluted wastewater from their mines in Appalachia. The estimated cost of these measures is $5 million.

EPA confirmed that New Englanders experienced a slight decrease in the number of unhealthy air quality days this year, compared to 2015.

India ratifies the Paris Agreement on climate change. The country's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin (left), shakes hands with UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson while General Assembly President Peter Thomson looks on in a ceremony held at the UN Headquarters on 2 October 2016.